Rivalry gets a reset as Cavaliers blow it up, Warriors stand pat

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) loses the ball during the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, February 8, 2018.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) loses the ball during the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, February 8, 2018.

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

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Golden State Warriors Kevon Looney (l to r) and Dallas Mavericks J.J. Barea bump as Barea drives the ball on the court during the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, February 8, 2018. less

Golden State Warriors Kevon Looney (l to r) and Dallas Mavericks J.J. Barea bump as Barea drives the ball on the court during the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks at Oracle ... more

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) goes up for a basket as Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) defends during the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, February 8, 2018. less

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) goes up for a basket as Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) defends during the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks at ... more

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

Rivalry gets a reset as Cavaliers blow it up, Warriors stand pat

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If the Warriors were a motel, they would have hung the NO VACANCY sign outside Oracle Arena on Thursday night. As the NBA trade deadline came and went, complete with a fair amount of craziness, they found no room on their roster for acquisitions of any kind.

There’s a vacancy around this team, however, suggesting a brand of fatigue that falls somewhere between the physical and the spiritual. It really hit home in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks, who played the defending champions straight-up despite the absence of their leading scorer, ex-Warriors forward Harrison Barnes, because of an ankle injury.

There were sloppy passes. There was yet another technical foul assessed to Draymond Green, and that’s 14 for the season (at 16, he draws a one-game suspension). There wasn’t a whole lot of serious defense being played. But there reaches a point in which championship teams can take only so much nonsense. The second half brought the exciting, fast-breaking, dunking Warriors back to life in a 121-103 win, and a sense of normalcy had been restored.

It’s not as if the Warriors completely ignored the phone calls and trade possibilities. They have some issues that need fixing. But before the game, general manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr each spoke of “continuity” and its importance to a classy, established team built with great care.

More by Bruce Jenkins

The Warriors’ concerns hardly measure up to the injury-forced absences of Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio), Andre Roberson (Oklahoma City), Gordon Hayward (Boston) and John Wall (Washington) among the top contenders, but Golden State badly needs some shooting off the bench, and there were few signs of life Thursday night.

Andre Iguodala took just three shots in 26 minutes and didn’t get to the free-throw line. Patrick McCaw, who hasn’t hit a three-point shot since Dec. 27 (going 0-for-13), did some aggressive driving but did not cast off from deep and shot 1-for-4. Nick Young was 0-for-5 before burying a couple of shots late. And Omri Casspi, still looking a bit creaky out there, went without a shot in four minutes.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ training camp 2.0 starts Friday, when their four new players report and take a crash course in LeBron James-style basketball. Although the Warriors chose to do nothing at the deadline, the Cavaliers were unloading players like club bouncers tossing rowdies into the street.

Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Iman Shumpert, Jae Crowder, Channing Frye, Derrick Rose — all gone. James surely will miss his good friend Wade, but the Cavs won’t miss any of those departed players. Such was the pathetic, dilapidated state of their roster before the deals went down. Wretched defense, a stunning lack of desire and a toxic locker-room atmosphere had this team “broken,” to use a word often mentioned among the club’s insiders.

Everything seems fresh and exciting around the Cavaliers now, at least in terms of potential. Arrivals Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. all have a thirst for playoff basketball and a championship ring. In a matter of hours, this team got younger, quicker, stronger in the backcourt and more effective on defense, all the while keeping Brooklyn’s No. 1 choice, almost certainly an attractive lottery pick, in the coming draft.

Have the Cavaliers placed themselves back on the Warriors’ level? Probably not. They have just 29 games to find cohesion within a starting five of James, Kevin Love (when he returns from a broken hand), Tristan Thompson, Hood and Hill, with the high-energy Clarkson and Nance coming off the bench to join Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith and fast-rising rookie Cedi Osman.

They take a mild defensive hit with the loss of Crowder, who didn’t quite pan out in Cleveland, but they suddenly have a tall, rangy backcourt (Hill, who’s 6-foot-3, leads the NBA with his 45 percent marksmanship from three-point range, and Hood, who’s 6-8, can do a little bit of everything). The explosive Nance adds rim protection, aggressive defense and an option for dunks off lobs.

What does all of this tell LeBron? That this team has a future if he decides to stay. That management has gone deep into luxury-tax penalties and does not care. That it’s not going to crush the Cavaliers’ spirit if he does leave. And, curiously, that a path has been clearly drawn if he chooses to join the Lakers as a free agent this summer. The L.A. end of this deal, unloading Clarkson and Nance, was all about clearing enough cap space to sign two max-salary free agents over the next two summers.

So it’s Golden State’s continuity against Cleveland’s revolving door. The rivalry is back, with some nutty new twists.